Justice News

Columbus Man Charged with Assaulting Federal Officers

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Larry Todd Hoffmeister, 51, of Columbus, N.M., with assaulting federal officers. Hoffmeister was released pending trial under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release.

Hoffmeister was arrested on April 12, 2017, and was charged by a criminal complaint with resisting and assaulting federal officers that same day in Luna County, N.M. The complaint alleges that Hoffmeister discharged his weapon twice while U.S. Border Patrol Agents were observing him near the west side of the Columbus Port of Entry.

If convicted of the charge in the complaint, Hoffmeister faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Charges in complaint are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the U.S Border Patrol and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.